Vascular Surgery

Peripheral Artery Disease Program

A peripheral artery disease treatment plan designed just for you

There are many treatment options for Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) ranging from life style changes to surgery. But what’s right for you? At Tufts Medical Center, we will work closely with you to develop a customized care plan that best meets your needs.

Our nationally recognized surgeons offer a full range of services including both traditional and minimally invasive surgery. This allows us to optimize your treatment. We take a team approach that brings together specialists from throughout the medical center to provide seamless care following a plan tailored to your needs.

Your team will design for you the most effective and least invasive treatment plan possible based on our extensive experience. The Division of Vascular Surgery has been a dedicated vascular practice at Tufts Medical Center since 1966 and continues to treat more than 4,500 patients a year. But here, you are not just a number. Our goal is to treat you like a member of our own family.

The result is that you will be healthier and more satisfied. In fact, our patient satisfaction scores are consistently among the highest in the hospital.

What can I expect at Tufts Medical Center?

The first step and most important step in arriving at a proper diagnosis and creating an appropriate treatment plan, is listening! Our team will take the time to listen to your complaints and complete a targeted physical examination. In most cases this initial encounter provides a preliminary diagnosis and plan, however our clinical impressions often require confirmatory and detailed diagnostic testing. We carefully chose those tests which will most safely and efficiently provide the necessary clarification in every case. At Tufts MC, we have advanced diagnostic imaging capabilities that allow us to do this quickly and accurately elucidate your vascular anatomy. For your convenience, all of these tests can be done here at one location, often during one appointment.

While you are here, we will be looking at more than just the progression of the peripheral artery disease. A benefit of being in the hands of top ranked specialists in our state-of-the-art facility is that we have the experience and capability to also evaluate your risk of related conditions including heart attack, renal disease, stroke, and other vascular related issues.

The specialists you need will come to you. Within this division, that team may include vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, interventional cardiologists, rehabilitative medicine physicians, and infectious disease specialists. We also have strong, collaborative relationships with Neurology, Nephrology, Podiatry, Endocrinology and other medical subspecialty groups. This collaborative approach ensures that you receive comprehensive, integrated care even if you have a complex condition.

How will I be treated?

PAD can often be treated with medications, exercise and smoking cessation. Should you need more extensive intervention, however, your team of specialists will work with you to choose the safest and most effective alternatives. We offer a full range of minimally invasive catheter-based procedures including:

Angioplasty

Stenting

Stent grafting

Atherectomy, removing plaque from the artery

In more advanced cases, our surgeons offer bypass surgery and endarectomy, which is removal of the inner lining of an artery. We also specialize in complex primary and re-operative surgical procedures.

What’s important is that as a team of specialists we will be looking at both your short-term and long-term needs. Additionally, all of our recommendations to you are based on best practices from the clinic, therapies that have been proven to work.